Expert on all things premarital, Bristol Palin weighed in with some deep thoughts about the idea of girls getting birth control free of charge in a blog post on Oct 7th:
Do you remember what it was like to be a 10-year old? I remember being an unabashed tomboy concerned with playing outside and acing 5th grade.
But life isn’t so innocent and carefree for some 10 years old in Washington State. This summer a report came out claiming that some schools in Washington were giving free birth control implants to children as young as 10 years old! These birth control devices are implanted in a girl’s uterus, and all of this can be done without a parent’s consent!
Bristol goes on to complain heavily about how terrible all this is, because birth control can have “serious life-long side effects to 10-year-old CHILDREN, but then to do all of this behind a parent’s back is simply outrageous!”
Bristol, let’s not drag the idea of “parents” into this one, considering who yours is, ok?
She is, however, correct.
Reliable birth control like an IUD has life long side effects, like not being a hypocritical teen mom like you, Bristol.
These girls have the side effect of being 99 percent free from the risk of a pregnancy (a much more taxing experience than having an IUD inserted), unlike you who have successfully relied on the power of prayer to keep yourself from having TWO unwed pregnancies.
They also have the side effect of not having to find a sitter for their child if they want to go outdoors and play with their schoolmates. Additional side effects are not having a serious financial obligation and much more free time to do things like go to school, and study for a good career that would allow her to support a family.
Programs like the one in Washington State are incredibly successful in preventing teen pregnancy and as a side effect, equally as successful in preventing teen abortions. In Colorado, from 2009-2013, a program similar to this caused a decline of 40 percent in the teen birth rate, and a 42 percent decline in the teen abortion rate. These numbers are huge, and the cost to taxpayers and families is MUCH better than the cost of medical procedures associated with abortion, or social programs to support these young mothers financially.
Nobody really knows why Bristol hates contraception, given her inability to stop having children out-of-wedlock. It must be because God keeps making her pregnant.
Featured image via Wonkette
